The Rohmer Review

The Rohmer Review was a non-profit amateur literary magazine dedicated to the works of Sax Rohmer. It was edited and published for  The Sax Rohmer Society by Douglas A. Rossman. Contributing Editor, R. E. Briney, became the Editor with issue #5 and remained Editor through the final issue, #18.

The first issue  was introduced by Douglas A. Rossman: "The contents of this inaugural issue of   The Rohmer Review  reflect the fact that The Sax Rohmer Society is dedicated to the  total  literary output of Sax Rohmer, and is not limited to the sinister saga of literature's best known master criminal - Dr. Fu Manchu - although the devil doctor will be given his due in future issues. We hope we can contribute to a wider appreciation of Rohmer's versatility, for some of his best writing appears in some of his lesser known works."

The Contents listed below differ from the "Contents" pages of the issues themselves in that  many items which were not listed on the original "Contents" pages are included here. This gives a clearer indication of what  The Rohmer Review actually covered.

Bibliographica Rohmeriana

Issues #2 through #7 were accompanied by separate "Bibliographica Rohmeriana" supplements printed on 8 x 11 inch pages, not bound into the magazine. The Introduction begins "It is the purpose of this department to provide a bibliographic record of the writings of Sax Rohmer, with as much significant detail as possible." From issue #8 onward, the "Bibliographica Romeriana" department was incorporated into the magazine. The pagination on the separate supplements is listed with each of these issues: Other loose inserts were mailed with early issues of the journal. These contained for sale/want ads, Sax Rohmer Society membership tallies, an auction of Rohmer hardcovers, and miscellaneous announcements.

Contents of Each Issue


The Rohmer Review No. 1
July 1968 
Douglas A. Rossman, Editor

The logo (title lettering) used on every cover of The Rohmer Review was designed
by Roy Hunt. The cover illustration is based on a portrait of Sax Rohmer 
by Bertrand Zadig.

Sax Rohmer [drawing] ...............................................Front Cover
Contents, Notes About the Front Cover, and Introductory Remarks...............2
An Informal Survey of the Works of Sax Rohmer by R.E. Briney .................3
The Books of Sax Rohmer - A Chronological List by R.E. Briney ...............25
The Incredible Captain O'Hagan by Alvin F. Germeshausen .....................27
The Romance of Scarabs by Luther Norris .....................................30
Chinese idol [drawing] by Roy Hunt ..........................................32


The Rohmer Review No. 2 
January 1969 
Douglas A. Rossman, Editor

Sax Rohmer [drawing] ...............................................Front Cover
How Fu Manchu Was Born by This Week September 29, 1957 .......................3
Speculations On The Origin of Dr. Fu Manchu by John Harwood ..................6
A Case of Identity: Being a Trifling Monograph Upon the Similarities
Between Sir Denis Nayland Smith and Sherlock Holmes by Andrew Jay Peck .......9
Rohmer Artist Len Goldberg by Douglas A. Rossman ............................18
Fleet Street Report by Andrew Jay Peck ......................................18
Letters to Limehouse by Roy Hunt and others .................................22
Fu Manchu Caricature by Jim Jones ...........................................27
Fu Manchu portrait by Henry Lauritzen ...............................Back Cover
Bibliographica Rohmeriana supplement "The Six Collections of 
Miscellaneous Short Stories" by R.E. Briney .........................S-1 to S-6


The Rohmer Review No. 3
August 1969
Douglas A. Rossman, Editor

Sax Rohmer [drawing] ...............................................Front Cover
The Green Spider by A. Sarsfield Ward ........................................3
Petrie Letter by Bruce Pelz .................................................16
Good Old Petrie by David Braveman ...........................................18
The Literary Tradition of Brow Spraying by J. R. Christopher ................23
Fleet Street Report by Andrew Jay Peck ......................................24
Note on the Death of Boris Karloff ..........................................27
Letters to Limehouse by John Harwood, James Wade, and others ................28
Fu Manchu cartoon by Sandra Mattielli .......................................31
The Green Spider [illustration] by Tom Walker .......................Back Cover
Bibliographica Rohmeriana supplement ...............................S-7 to S-10


The Rohmer Review No. 4
March 1970
Douglas A. Rossman, Editor

Sax Rohmer [drawing] ...............................................Front Cover
Rohmer by J.C. Squire ........................................................3
The Romance of the Middle East by John E. Carroll ............................7
Houdini to the Rescue by John Harwood .......................................13
Zagazig by Jeffrey N. Weiss .................................................16
Fleet Street Report [including announcement of Roy Hunt's folio:
Fu Manhu and Company ] by Andrew Jay Peck ....................................20
Reproduction of Detective Comics #18 [Fu on cover] ..........................21
Letters to Limehouse by Various .............................................24
Sinitic Sonnet James Wade ...................................................27
The "Black Mandarin" [drawing] by Sax Rohmer [Later used on the Back Cover
of issue #17]................................................................28
Bibliographica Rohmeriana by R. E. Briney .........................S-11 to S-16


The Rohmer Review No. 5
August 1970
R.E. Briney, Editor

Illustrations on the covers of issues #5, #6, #7, and #8 based on plates in 
The Gods of the Egyptians by E. A. Wallis Budge (Dover Books, 1969).

Bast [line drawing] ................................................Front Cover
Fleet Street Report by Andrew J. Peck and R. E. Briney ......Inside Front Cover
Were Houdini's Feats Supernatural? by Sax Rohmer .............................1
Sax Rohmer and the Art of Making Villains by Anice Page Cooper ...............8
From the Editor by R. E. Briney ..............................................9
Metropolitan Police Station, "Thames" Division [photo] ......................12
Limehouse and the River Police by John E. Carroll ...........................13
Map of Limehouse and Environs by John E. Carroll .........................16-17
The Fu Manchu sculpture by Jack Cassin-Scott [photo]
Photo by Jack Blake .........................................................21
The Zagazig Code by Evelyn Herzog ...........................................22
Zagazig Revisited by Julian L. Biggers ......................................25
Dantean Allusions in The Trail of Fu Manchu by J. R. Christopher ............27
Letters to Limehouse by Elizabeth Sax Rohmer and others .....................31
Bibliographica Rohmeriana supplement ..............................S-17 to S-18


The Rohmer Review No. 6
February 1971
R. E. Briney, Editor

Thoth [line drawing] by R. E. Briney ...............................Front Cover
Notes from the editor by R. E. Briney ........................................2
Live Instruments of Villainy by Sax Rohmer ...................................3
Commentary by Douglas A. Rossman .............................................5
Letter to Sherlock by Nayland Smith ..........................................7
Annotations [to letter] by Julian L. Biggers .................................7
The Lost "Eye" R. E. Briney ..................................................9
"The Secret Service Man and the Hidden Hand" [photo] ........................11
"Which is the Villain?" [photo and listing of cast] ......................12-13
"The Tibet Monk and Hilda" [photo] ..........................................14
Map of The Manor of Stepney by John E. Carroll ..............................16
The Manor of Stepney by John E. Carroll .....................................17
The Sound of Fu Manchu by Leslie Charteris ..................................19
The Man Who Never Said Anything by John Harwood .............................20
Letters to Limehouse by James Wade and others ...............................21
Bibliographica Rohmeriana ......................................Supplement None


The Rohmer Review No. 7
August 1971
R.E. Briney, Editor

Horus/Set [line drawing] by R. E. Briney ...........................Front Cover
Notes from the Editor by R. E. Briney .......................Inside Front Cover
The Immortal Enemy by Robert A. W. Lowndes ...................................1
Notes by the editor [to "The Immortal Enemy"] by R. E. Briney ................9
Addendum to The Lost Eye by R. E. Briney ....................................10
A Tale of "Secret Egypt" by Sax Rohmer ......................................11
Commentary by R. E. Briney ..................................................12
"Moris Claw" Sculpture by Cassin-Scott [photo] by Jack Blake ................13
"Fu Manchu's Daughter" [drawing] by Michael Vosberg ......................14-15
Sketch of Clapham Common (S.W.4) by R. E. Briney ............................16
Locating Dr. Petrie's Practice by Julian L. Biggers .........................17
Book News [including a reproduction of Roy Hunt's folio] by R. E. Briney.....20
Fu Manchu Checklist by R. E. Briney .........................................21
Our Contributors ............................................................25
Letters to Limehouse by James Wade and others ...............................27
Note on the death of August Derleth .........................................29
Bibliographica Rohmeriana supplement ..............................S-19 to S-20


The Rohmer Review No. 8
March 1972
R. E. Briney, Editor

Isis [line drawing] by R. E. Briney ................................Front Cover
Notes from the Editor by R. E. Briney .......................Inside Front Cover
The Thugs and Dacoits of India by John E. Carrol .............................1
Dacoits: John Merton and ? in Drums of Fu Manchu [photo]......................8
Sax Rohmer, George Robey and "Round in Fifty" by R. E. Briney ...............11
Caricature of George Robey by George Robey ..................................11
"Shakespeare" [song lyric] by Sax Rohmer ....................................14
Looking Back on "Round in Fifty" by George Robey ............................15
Book News ...................................................................18
Sax Rohmer: An Astrological Analysis by Julian L. Biggers ...................19
Secret Egypt Unveiled by W. O. Lofts ........................................23
Bibliographica Rohmeriana by R. E. Briney ...................................25
Advertisement for Brood of the Witch Queen [picturing Sax Rohmer] ...........25
Fu [Manchu] by Henry E. Wenden ..............................................27
Rascals at Large: A Review by John Harwood ..................................28
Our Contributors ............................................................29
Letters to Limehouse by Various .............................................31


The Rohmer Review No. 9
August 1972 
R. E. Briney, Editor

Fu Manchu [drawing] by Mike Vosburg ................................Front Cover
Notes from the Editor by R. E. Briney .......................Inside Front Cover
The Haunted Temple [fiction] by Sax Rohmer ...................................1
Bibliographica Rohmeriana: 10.30 Folkestone Express Rewritten Stories
by R. E. Briney .............................................................13
Fu Man Chu by Cay Van Ash ...................................................15
Letter to London Opinion [holograph and transcript] by Sax Rohmer ...........16
The Well of Zem-zem by Robert Galbreath .....................................18
The Doctor's Blade [interview with Sax Rohmer] from The New Yorker ..........19
Editor's Notes by R. E. Briney ..............................................21
Film Notes: Nigel Green; The Castle of Fu Manchu by W. O. G. Lofts ..........23
Christopher Lee as Fu Manchu [photo] ........................................24
A Sixth Sense by Elizabeth Sax Rohmer .......................................25
Master of Villainy: A Review by Marvin Lachman ..............................27
The Occult: A Review by R. E. Briney ........................................28
Book News by R. E. Briney ...................................................29
John C. Daly as Fu Manchu [photo] ...........................................30
Letters to Limehouse by Various .............................................31
Sax Rohmer in Wartime [quotation] by David Whitelaw .........................32
A Fellow-Author's View of Sax Rohmer [quotation]
by Captain Frank H. Shaw ....................................................33


The Rohmer Review No. 10
March 1973
R. E. Briney, Editor

Chinese dragon [drawing] by John E. Carroll ........................Front Cover
Notes from the editor by R. E. Briney .......................Inside Front Cover
Meet Dr. Fu Manchu by Meet the Detective 1935 ................................1
Letter to Bransby Williams by Sax Rohmer .....................................4
The Imperial Dragon by John E. Carroll .......................................5
The Politics of Fu Manchu by Jim Pobst .......................................9
Author Index to The Rohmer Review #1-10 ..................................15-18
The Blue Scorpion Robert Weinberg ...........................................19
‘Fu Manchu Mysteries' [publicity photo for CBS radio serial, 1932] ..........24
Book News by R. E. Briney ...................................................25
Thoughts on the Master of Villainy by W.O.G. Lofts ..........................27
"Alf's Button Afloat" with the Crazy Gang [photo] ...........................29
Our Contributors ............................................................30
Letters from Limehouse by Cay Van Ash and one other .........................31


The Rohmer Review No. 11
December 1973
R. E. Briney, Editor

Dacoit [drawing] by Mike Vosburg ...................................Front Cover
Notes from the editor by R. E. Briney .......................Inside Front Cover
Here and There [anecdotes] by Sax Rohmer .....................................1
Our Contributors .............................................................4
My Hero - Fu Manchu by John Ball .............................................5
A Rohmer Miscellany - I [quotations on Sax Rohmer] ...........................8
SH-H-H! Dr. Fu Manchu Is on the Air! by W.O.G. Lofts and R.E. Briney .........9
Sax Rohmer [photo] ..........................................................11
Fu Manchu Speaks by Sidney Petty ............................................12
Bibliographica Rohmeriana: Sax Rohmer in Dutch by R. E. Briney ..............17
The Seals of the Si-Fan [illustrations by Kiku Onaka] by Cay Van Ash ........21
Letters by Elizabeth Sax Rohmer, Chris Steinbrunner, and others .............23


The Rohmer Review No. 12
September 1974
R. E. Briney, Editor

"Sax Rohmer" [Chinese characters] by Kiku Onaka ....................Front Cover
Notes from the Editor by R. E. Briney .......................Inside Front Cover
Some Notes on Rohmer's Witch-Queens by Stephen Shutt .........................1
The Cartouche of Taia [drawing] ..............................................3
On This Issue's Cover by Cay Van Ash and R. E. Briney ........................4
Sax Rohmer's Name in Chinese by R. E. Briney .................................4
The Mysterious Arthur H. Ward by R. E. Briney ................................5
Forecast by R. E. Briney .....................................................7
The Smith Letters ............................................................9
Radio Fu Manchu by Ray Stanich ..............................................11
John C. Daly, radio actor, as Fu Manchu [photo] .............................13
Book News by R. E. Briney ...................................................16
Bibliographica Rohmeriana: Sax Rohmer in French by R. E. Briney .............17
Mr. Chang: A Minor Pulp Villain by John A. Dinan ............................21
Letters by Cay Van Ash, Roy Hunt, Leonard P. Gray, and others ...............23

The Rohmer Review No. 13
August 1975
R. E. Briney, Editor

Fu Manchu and marmoset [drawing] by Mike Vosburg ...................Front Cover
Notes from the editor by R. E. Briney .......................Inside Front Cover
The Hand of Dr. Insidious by Ron Goulart .....................................1
A Curious Interview by James Wade ............................................8
Fu Manchu caricature by Jim Jones ...........................................10
Fu Chin Chow [a comic strip] by Jack Gaughan ................................11
Revenge a la Mode by Vincent J. Miranda .....................................23
"Don't Fool with Fu Manchu" .................................................25
Book News by R. E. Briney ...................................................26
Letters by James Wade, Jack Gaughan, and others .............................27
Chinese Meal and a Movie ....................................................32


The Rohmer Review No. 14
July 1976
R.E. Briney, Editor

Cartouche ['Sax Rohmer' in hieroglyphics] by Stephen Shutt .........Front Cover
Notes from the editor by R. E. Briney .......................Inside Front Cover
The Polyglot Mr. Rohmer Jean Stafford ........................................1
Addendum (letters, 25 Aug 75 and 18 Sep 75) by Jean Stafford .................3
Ming the Merciless [caricature] by Jim Jones .................................4
Sax Rohmer in Chicago by John Nieminski ......................................5
Sax Rohmer, Thrills Author, Has to Be "Locked in" to Write by Ione Quinby ....7
Book News by R. E. Briney ...................................................10
Who Killed Kelly? by T. J. McCauley .........................................11
The Search for Sax Rohmer by Cay Van Ash ....................................13
Former home of the Rohmer family [photo] .................................14-15
Sir Henry Complain [quotation] by John Dickson Carr .........................17
The Third Eyelid by Marvin L. Morrison ......................................19
A Note on Dovelands Cottage by Julian L. Biggers ............................23
Fu Manchu [portrait] by Franklyn E. Hamilton ................................25
Letters by James Wade and others ............................................27


The Rohmer Review No. 15
September 1976
R.E. Briney, Editor

Fu Manchu and marmoset [drawing] by Michael Vosburg ................Front Cover
Notes from the editor by R. E. Briney .......................Inside Front Cover
Dancing Girl of Egypt by Sax Rohmer ..........................................1
Musette, Max and Sumuru by R.E. Briney and W.O.G. Lofts ......................5
"White Velvet" illustrations from Radio Times ................................7
The Early Chronicles of Fu Manchu by R. E. Briney ............................9
Portfolio: The Si-Fan Mysteries [illustrations from Chums] ..................11
Ourselves and Gaston Max by Cay Van Ash .....................................23
"She Who Loveth Silence" by Stephen Shutt ...................................25
Letters by Cay Van Ash and others ...........................................27
Book News by R. E. Briney ....................................Inside Back Cover


The Rohmer Review No. 16
July 1977
R. E. Briney, Editor

Fu Manchu and The Shadow [drawing] by Frank Hamilton ...............Front Cover
Notes from the Editor by R. E. Briney .......................Inside Front Cover
The Shadow of Ying Ko by Frank D. McSherry, Jr................................1
Eight Illustrations by Frank Hamilton ..................................Various
Shiwan Khan [drawing] by Erwin L. Hess ......................................18
Shiwan Khan [drawing] by Edd Cartier ........................................18


The Rohmer Review No. 17
August 1977
R. E. Briney, Editor

The Black Mandarin [drawing]
[Used previously on the Back Cover of No. 4] by Sax Rohmer .........Front Cover
Notes from the Editor by R. E. Briney .......................Inside Front Cover
The Birth of Fu Manchu by the Daily Sketch  May 24, 1934 ......................1
Sax Rohmer's hands on a planchette board [photo] .............................2
Comments by Cay Van Ash ......................................................4
Notes by the Editor by R. E. Briney ..........................................5
Two small drawings by Mike Vosburg ...........................................5
A Question of Time by Cay Van Ash ............................................7
Portfolio: The Sins of Severac Bablon: illustrations from Chums .............11
Bibliographica Rohmeriana: The Paul Harley Series by R. E. Briney ...........15
Curse of the Pharaohs: A Review by R. E. Briney .............................18
Book News by R. E. Briney ...................................................19
Letters [Fu Mun Chews letter and reproduction of candy wrapper]
[A second Fu Mun Chews letter] by James Sandoe, Leslie Charteris,
Evelyn A. Herzog, Cay Van Ash, and others ...................................21
Fu Mun Chews letter and reproduction by Leslie Charteris ....................23


The Rohmer Review No. 18
Spring/Summer 1981
R. E. Briney, Editor

Cartouche of the coronation name (Neb-khpru-Re)
of Tutankhamen Identification thanks to Victor A. BerchFront .......Front Cover
Dedication to Rose Elizabeth Knox Ward
and Notes from the editor by R. E. Briney ...................Inside Front Cover
Nelson Keys and Captain Kettle by Sax Rohmer .................................1
Those Mysterious Mandolins by Robert W. Shurtleff ............................9
The Royal Troubadours [photos] ...........................................10-11
Bits of Old London [drawing] by Will Owen ...................................12
A Walking Tour of Sax Rohmer's London by Julian L. Biggers ..................13
Some Notes on Seeing Sax Rohmer's London by R. E. Briney ....................15
Review of The Nightingale [New York Times 7/17/47] ..........................16
Letters by Cay Van Ash and others ...........................................17
Fu Manchu [portrait] by Franklyn Hamilton ...................................18
Fah Lo Suee [photo] .........................................................19
Sax Rohmer in the 1920's: Notes on Chronology by Cay Van Ash ................21
On Finding Petrie's Correct Name by Evelyn A. Herzog ........................25


Fu Manchu and Company
by Roy Hunt

Luther Norris, Publisher
Gavin Haist, Typographer
Tom Walker, Cover Illustration
Howard Haycraft, Photograph of Sax Rohmer

Length: 17 Pages

Fu Manchu and Company is a folio with remarks by the artist and was respectfully dedicated to The Sax Rohmer Society. Fu Manchu and Company was announced in The Rohmer Review No. 4 and the cover was later reproduced in The Rohmer Review No. 7 . Additionally, the logo (title lettering) used on every cover of The Rohmer Review was designed by Roy Hunt. In "Notes by the Artist", which consists of two full pages, he provides quite a bit of information about each of the thirteen illustrations.

Sax Rohmer: An Appreciation by Irving L. Jaffe ...............................1
Notes by the Artist ..........................................................3
Picture 01: The screen's first Fu Manchu, Warner Oland .......................5
Picture 02: In 1932 Boris Karloff became the second screen's Fu Manchu .......6
Picture 03: In 1940 Henry Brandon became Fu Manchu Number Three ..............7
Picture 04: Christopher Lee was Fu Manchu Number Four ........................8
Picture 05: This is Nayland Smith ............................................9
Picture 06: Fu Manchu's Daughter ............................................10
Picture 07: Moris Klaw, The Dream Detective .................................11
Picture 08: Anthony Ferrara, Brood of the Witch Queen, and sorcerer 
            extra-ordinary ..................................................12
Picture 09: Fo-Hi, The Golden Scorpian along with Fu Manchu
            (unnamed in the story) look over Miska, the slave girl ..........13
Picture 10: Chief Inspector Red Kerry, featured in Dope & Yellow Shadows ....14
Picture 11: Sir Lionel Barton and Niece Rima ................................15
Picture 12: Yu'an Hee See, one of Rohmer's most villainous characters,
            who, unlike Fu Manchu, is without honour ........................16
Picture 13: This is the real Dr. Fu Manchu as described by Rohmer ...........17


Where to Purchase a Complete Collection of The Rohmer Review
The e-Rohmer Review is available as a complete collection, including Fu Manchu and Company by Roy Hunt, from Battered Silicon Dispatch Box. You'll receive a link to download a single 105.5MB searchable PDF file, for the low cost of $20.00. It's far less expensive and far more convenient than attempting to hunt down a set of print copies!


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